GIA grading of lab grown diamonds

[Ilovecarbon]

So everything I've read says GIA doesn't grade lab grown diamonds, but when I look at GIA's website, they say they do. Now I'm confused. I know IGI and GCAL grade most of them. My question is: Is that something I have to submit myself (like I buy one and submit after the fact)? Or is there someone selling GIA graded lab grown?

 

[ChristineRose]

They will issue a certificate but it will only say it's a lab grown diamond. No color, clarity, cut. They will inscribe it LAB GROWN if it isn't already. Sometimes people who aren't sure if a stone is grown or mined will use it, sometimes people get one because they think it's easier to sell with a GIA.

ETA: I take it all back. They must have changed their policy. I can't find anything in the news, but the page apparently went up in late 2017! It appears they still use ranges like D-F and SI2-I2.

 

[daneshpastry]

Report looks fairly comprehensive.

 

[Ilovecarbon]

That’s what I found when I was looking at their website! Hence, why I was so baffled by all of the statements otherwise. I guess it’s new, without a lot of press regarding the change...

 

[daneshpastry]

That’s what I found when I was looking at their website! Hence, why I was so baffled by all of the statements otherwise. I guess it’s new, without a lot of press regarding the change...

It's probably just not mention 'round these parts.

 

[ChristineRose]

They are still using "Colorless" instead of DEF, and "slightly included" instead of...not sure actually. SI1 and SI2 I guess.

I'm not sure what the logic behind this is, unless they are just trying to make it harder on buyers.

 

[OoohShiny]

They are still using "Colorless" instead of DEF, and "slightly included" instead of...not sure actually. SI1 and SI2 I guess.

I'm not sure what the logic behind this is, unless they are just trying to make it harder on buyers.

I wonder if they are getting pressure from Mined diamond suppliers to not 'put MMDs on the same level as Mined', by not grading them the same when, technically speaking, I cannot think of a reason why they couldn't grade both in exactly the same method.

Indeed, they must be grading them using much the same methods, as they would still need to compare them to a set of masters for colour and assess inclusions, either mechanically or by human eye, in the same way that Mined stones are assessed - it seems they are just doing so to a lesser degree of accuracy.

If I was a cynical man I would suggest that pressure 'behind the scenes', as suggested above, is the real reason they are not grading MMDs 'properly' - after all, a diamond is a diamond, and grading submissions are all income for GIA or any other grading house...

 

[ChristineRose]

I've thought of a reason, which may be more of a justification than a reason.

Color is pretty complicated, as it depends on light and surroundings. Consider GIA's minor scandal about overgrading fluorescent stones. The average coloring of a synthetic is different than the average coloring of a mined diamond, so it's not always a perfect apples to apples.

Inclusions likewise--there are a few only found in synthetics, and a lot never found in synthetics. So the average included mined is not equal to the average included synthetic.

But there are lots of not-average mined diamonds, and no one objects to comparing them to other mined diamonds so...

 

[ChicagoMan]

Does AGS grade or will soon grade round lab grown diamonds? I was under the impression that GIA and AGS are the only two labs that properly grade cut.

 

[denverappraiser]

Yes, GIA will grade synthetic diamonds with a bit of a qualifier. They don’t use the familiar grading scale you’re used to. For example, there are no SI1 or SI2 grades. Only SI. Color is done in 3-grade ranges. There is no cut at all. This is the reason people prefer IGI and GCAL documents for synthetics. This has been the policy for quite some time.

AGS won’t grade synthetics at all, not even stone ID (which is slightly curious since they’ve obviously ID’d the stone in order to decide they want to reject it). I see no indication that they’re thinking of changing this but that's up to the board and the board does listen to what consumers want. They may change their mind if they get pressured into it. Obviously, they could if they wanted to. It's a highly capable lab.

 

[ChristineRose]

Yes, GIA will grade synthetic diamonds with a bit of a qualifier. They don’t use the familiar grading scale you’re used to. For example, there are no SI1 or SI2 grades. Only SI. Color is done in 3-grade ranges. There is no cut at all. This is the reason people prefer IGI and GCAL documents for synthetics. This has been the policy for quite some time.

AGS won’t grade synthetics at all, not even stone ID (which is slightly curious since they’ve obviously ID’d the stone in order to decide they want to reject it). I see no indication that they’re thinking of changing this but that's up to the board and the board does listen to what consumers want. They may change their mind if they get pressured into it. Obviously, they could if they wanted to. It's a highly capable lab.

GIA is now giving cut grades.

https://www.gia.edu/analysis-gradin...d?reporttype=synthetic-diamond-grading-report

 

[ILoopThem]

I'm a third-generation jeweler and a gemologist and I run a very honest, gemology-based retail brick and mortar business in a super competitive jewelry district.

So I've been selling lab-grown for the better part of 4-5 months now and they're selling VERY well and with IGI NY or Antwerp certs. When I first started examining lab-grown, I had a batch sent to me, and found the discrepancies always with the overseas labs.

The issue is with certs from Asia, IGI India with 8 IGI labs as well as the one Hong Kong lab is (here we go again) over-grading. I've seen 1-2 grades color overgrading and 1-2 clarity over-grading. GIA in Mumbai and Hong Kong are doing this too with natural diamonds,..and for whatever reason, these stones wind up online (JA, BE, BN, etc..) and as a result, the discounts for these on wholesale level are much stronger than the US graded stones. This makes selling at brick and mortar level that much tougher, what with "Know it all" millennials coming in and pulling up these websites on their phones to show how much less online prices are than in-store, which at my level this isn't true,..but go try to explain that there are ranges of color/clarity/cut within EACH grade and that I choose not to sell these stones,etc.. and it's easy to see how a lot of business is lost online.
I've tried in the past to sell the overgraded GIA stones, for example, but when viewing in person and having the ability to ask questions with a live person, etc.. it's quick that a potential customer will see how inferior these types of stones are to ones with the same grades but higher in the range. I have almost always been able to convert this walk-in customer to purchase in-store once the differences are shown/explained. Of course a lowest-price mindset will undoubtedly only buy online and the biggest online sellers of the over-graded stones are laughing all the way to the bank...

As for the GIA not issuing detailed grading (i.e., SPECIFIC color/clarity grading) I feel in time, as lab-grown gains stronger market share and labs such as IGI and GCAL become stronger, the GIA may find themselves at a cross roads and will either be forced to simply grade lab-grown in the same way as natural, or may have to create a sub-scale grading system to deal with whatever (if any) differences they see between the two.

Lab-grown diamonds are here to stay. The investments necessary to build a lab-growing facility are significant and the pricing will undoubtedly remain lower than natural but (In my opinion) not bargain-basement/Moisannite-like prices (especially now post-patent) because of the mystique and brilliant marketing by DeBeers some 50-60 odd yrs ago ("A diamond is forever") and diamonds being so deeply ingrained in the consumer's mind as something of high value and engagement-necessity.

ILT

 

[OoohShiny]

The issue is with certs from Asia, IGI India with 8 IGI labs as well as the one Hong Kong lab is (here we go again) over-grading. I've seen 1-2 grades color overgrading and 1-2 clarity over-grading. GIA in Mumbai and Hong Kong are doing this too with natural diamonds,..and for whatever reason, these stones wind up online (JA, BE, BN, etc..) and as a result, the discounts for these on wholesale level are much stronger than the US graded stones.

Interesting - I was not aware that there were any issues with GIA over-grading. It was my understanding that they were consistent worldwide.

Would you be able to link to any examples of over-graded stones?

 

[ILoopThem]

The overgraded stones that I've seen were ones that were either brought to me for appraisal, or those that dealers brought in to sell me and they had first hand knowledge of which GIA location graded the stones. So naturally I passed on these and it's anyone's guess where exactly they wound up. It's definitely going on and not in a small way either.

 

[OoohShiny]

The issue is with certs from Asia, IGI India with 8 IGI labs as well as the one Hong Kong lab is (here we go again) over-grading. I've seen 1-2 grades color overgrading and 1-2 clarity over-grading. GIA in Mumbai and Hong Kong are doing this too with natural diamonds,..and for whatever reason, these stones wind up online (JA, BE, BN, etc..) and as a result, the discounts for these on wholesale level are much stronger than the US graded stones.

The overgraded stones that I've seen were ones that were either brought to me for appraisal, or those that dealers brought in to sell me and they had first hand knowledge of which GIA location graded the stones. So naturally I passed on these and it's anyone's guess where exactly they wound up. It's definitely going on and not in a small way either.

Without wishing to come across as 'one of those guys', the two statements highlighted would seem to contradict each other??

 

[denverappraiser]

We have two (or more) rather different discussions here.

GIA definitely has a problem with consistency of late. I’m not as convinced as most that the ‘bad’ certs come from overseas labs while the good ones come from the US but the range covered by a particular grade had definitely increased and this is causing great stress and fingerpointing in the trade. Nearly everyone says theirs are the good ones and those other guys have the junk.

The grading scales for synthetics are a tricky problem. There’s no particular reason to use the same scales as with natural stones but the growers are absolutely dedicated to doing this. It’s a huge piece of their value proposition. There are inclusions that appear in natural stones that don’t in synthetics and visa-versa. There really are no I2 synthetics, and darned few I1’s, so why use a scale that’s so heavy on these? In naturals, I1 is the most common grade after all. One of the big criticisms is that the grade covers too much ground. That’s the whole SI3 debate. Synthetics have a manufacturing process, HPHT or CVD, and some people care. That clearly belongs as part of the scale while on naturals it obviously does not. What about color? Have you ever seen an O-P synthetic? So why is it on the scale at all?

 

[ChristineRose]

It's impossible to keep up with the technology, especially as growers don't really share, but my understanding is that everyone grows blue, or maybe brown, and whitens with HTHP. Which implies that there could be an O-P, if someone wanted one.

The early synthetics were colored, and stunningly so. There's probably a colored natural diamond out there as good as a synthetic, but I'm unlikely to see it. Even the Hope Diamond is badly cut, unless you're a historian, in which case it's one of the most exciting cuts known. But those stunning blues didn't sell.

 

[denverappraiser]

Sure, they probably COULD make an O-P, but they don't. Why they don't is an interesting enough question and I suspect it's two-pronged. They wouldn't sell very well, and they would sell for less money. Those are fine reasons but neither one of those is a grading question. The reality is that they don't, and the scale becomes deceptive because of it. Is a J stone midgrade the way it is on mined stones, or is it the lowest color you can buy, the way it is with synthetics? That sure seems like an important grading question.

Treatment brings up another related issue. A mined stone that's treated using HPHT to alter the color is a BIG deal. They don't even mention it with synthetics because it's considered part of the manufacturing process.

 

[OoohShiny]

An update on GIA's position:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...etic-and-treated-diamond.247972/#post-4523770

Thanks to denverappraiser for posting it!

 

[Paraiba]

I was in the market for 2 carat diamond earrings for my spouse... and was just made aware of this Man-Made or Laboratory Grown Diamond. So I wanted to learn more about them. While reading I came to see this forum regarding grading. I am not in the trade, but just an admirer.. consumer. Regarding the comment on how GIA Grades Lab Diamonds as noted:

They are still using "Colorless" instead of DEF, and "slightly included" instead of...not sure actually. SI1 and SI2 I guess. I'm not sure what the logic behind this is, unless they are just trying to make it harder on buyers.

In my opinion they are not making it harder on buyers, but their logic is to simply maintain the standards where it needs to be. I believe the main reason why Reputable Grading Company (i.e. GIA) is using broad terms like "Colorless" or simply "Slightly Included" etc. for grading Man-Made or Lab Grown Diamonds is because they are grown in LAB and Man-Made. Growing the crystal structure is controlled and only takes a week or month or so... hence the scientist can dictate/manipulate the growth chamber and condition inside to get what he or she desires (i.e. specific color, highest clear color grade, clarity, etc.). Unlike in Mother nature where diamonds and gems from the very beginning certain conditions has to occur for the crystal to even start forming. Then during the growth process that takes thousands or millions of years while constantly being insulted, bombarded with violence and changes in condition that can affect its color, clarity, distort its crystal form, limit, aid, or change in its formation all together. And then the process of finding then which takes significant effort and labor. As noted in my reading most minded diamonds or gemstones are NOT gem grade material (gem grade are rare)... and then cutting which takes skills to remove the imperfections but retains most of the gem material.

In my understanding/opinion, Grading Company want (must) reserve the grading specifics/levels (i.e. D,E,F, VVS1, SI1, etc.) for the mined diamonds that honestly deserves it as it required a great deal of chance or luck to get them from nature. Unlike the ones that is grown is a controlled petri-dish.

Honestly, I think Man-Made or Lab diamonds are beautiful and their is a market for them. BUT, they do not have the allure, mystery, and intrigue that is attached to Natural Mined Diamonds or gemstones that's formed during the formation of our world. So in my opinion, Man-Made or Lab Grown Diamonds or Gemstones should NOT and can not be graded the same way as they are easier and quicker in comparison to get since they are grown in a lab for a week or month.

Thank you.. By the way, I ended up buying 2 carat total Natural Mined Diamonds GIA F/SI1 Ex/Ex/Ex for my anniversary.

 

[OoohShiny]

I was in the market for 2 carat diamond earrings for my spouse... and was just made aware of this Man-Made or Laboratory Grown Diamond. So I wanted to learn more about them. While reading I came to see this forum regarding grading. I am not in the trade, but just an admirer.. consumer. Regarding the comment on how GIA Grades Lab Diamonds as noted:

They are still using "Colorless" instead of DEF, and "slightly included" instead of...not sure actually. SI1 and SI2 I guess. I'm not sure what the logic behind this is, unless they are just trying to make it harder on buyers.

In my opinion they are not making it harder on buyers, but their logic is to simply maintain the standards where it needs to be. I believe the main reason why Reputable Grading Company (i.e. GIA) is using broad terms like "Colorless" or simply "Slightly Included" etc. for grading Man-Made or Lab Grown Diamonds is because they are grown in LAB and Man-Made. Growing the crystal structure is controlled and only takes a week or month or so... hence the scientist can dictate/manipulate the growth chamber and condition inside to get what he or she desires (i.e. specific color, highest clear color grade, clarity, etc.). Unlike in Mother nature where diamonds and gems from the very beginning certain conditions has to occur for the crystal to even start forming. Then during the growth process that takes thousands or millions of years while constantly being insulted, bombarded with violence and changes in condition that can affect its color, clarity, distort its crystal form, limit, aid, or change in its formation all together. And then the process of finding then which takes significant effort and labor. As noted in my reading most minded diamonds or gemstones are NOT gem grade material (gem grade are rare)... and then cutting which takes skills to remove the imperfections but retains most of the gem material.

In my understanding/opinion, Grading Company want (must) reserve the grading specifics/levels (i.e. D,E,F, VVS1, SI1, etc.) for the mined diamonds that honestly deserves it as it required a great deal of chance or luck to get them from nature. Unlike the ones that is grown is a controlled petri-dish.

Honestly, I think Man-Made or Lab diamonds are beautiful and their is a market for them. BUT, they do not have the allure, mystery, and intrigue that is attached to Natural Mined Diamonds or gemstones that's formed during the formation of our world. So in my opinion, Man-Made or Lab Grown Diamonds or Gemstones should NOT and can not be graded the same way as they are easier and quicker in comparison to get since they are grown in a lab for a week or month.

Thank you.. By the way, I ended up buying 2 carat total Natural Mined Diamonds GIA F/SI1 Ex/Ex/Ex for my anniversary.

Thank you for adding your opinions to the discussion.

re: the section I've bolded, what gets my goat is that GIA (or whoever) must be grading to Mined diamond grading techniques in order to get to the broader ranges they are putting on their reports.

If that is the case, why not just put that more detailed info on the report and grade as per Mined?

GIA is supposed to be an impartial third-party assessor / appraiser, and not be a company that is influenced to the point of perpetuating and implicitly parroting things like the 'real is rare' marketing campaign that Mined producers are pushing to dissuade consumers from a rival product.

A graded characteristic is a graded characteristic, regardless of where the stone comes from - the source is different but the (visible) physical characteristics are the same when MMD is done well, so there's no real valid reason not to consider and evaluate those properties on an equal footing.

Whether or not consumers wish to choose MMD or Mined is a decision for them to make with equal information available for each option, which GIA should be providing.

It smacks of trying to appease Mined stone producers and not rock the boat, IMHO.


Of course, should MMD stones be graded at all if producers commit to a minimum colour/clarity level? That is another question, which has been discussed recently.

 

[rshrewsbury]

I'm a third-generation jeweler and a gemologist and I run a very honest, gemology-based retail brick and mortar business in a super competitive jewelry district.

So I've been selling lab-grown for the better part of 4-5 months now and they're selling VERY well and with IGI NY or Antwerp certs. When I first started examining lab-grown, I had a batch sent to me, and found the discrepancies always with the overseas labs.

The issue is with certs from Asia, IGI India with 8 IGI labs as well as the one Hong Kong lab is (here we go again) over-grading. I've seen 1-2 grades color overgrading and 1-2 clarity over-grading. GIA in Mumbai and Hong Kong are doing this too with natural diamonds,..and for whatever reason, these stones wind up online (JA, BE, BN, etc..) and as a result, the discounts for these on wholesale level are much stronger than the US graded stones. This makes selling at brick and mortar level that much tougher, what with "Know it all" millennials coming in and pulling up these websites on their phones to show how much less online prices are than in-store, which at my level this isn't true,..but go try to explain that there are ranges of color/clarity/cut within EACH grade and that I choose not to sell these stones,etc.. and it's easy to see how a lot of business is lost online.
I've tried in the past to sell the overgraded GIA stones, for example, but when viewing in person and having the ability to ask questions with a live person, etc.. it's quick that a potential customer will see how inferior these types of stones are to ones with the same grades but higher in the range. I have almost always been able to convert this walk-in customer to purchase in-store once the differences are shown/explained. Of course a lowest-price mindset will undoubtedly only buy online and the biggest online sellers of the over-graded stones are laughing all the way to the bank...

As for the GIA not issuing detailed grading (i.e., SPECIFIC color/clarity grading) I feel in time, as lab-grown gains stronger market share and labs such as IGI and GCAL become stronger, the GIA may find themselves at a cross roads and will either be forced to simply grade lab-grown in the same way as natural, or may have to create a sub-scale grading system to deal with whatever (if any) differences they see between the two.

Lab-grown diamonds are here to stay. The investments necessary to build a lab-growing facility are significant and the pricing will undoubtedly remain lower than natural but (In my opinion) not bargain-basement/Moisannite-like prices (especially now post-patent) because of the mystique and brilliant marketing by DeBeers some 50-60 odd yrs ago ("A diamond is forever") and diamonds being so deeply ingrained in the consumer's mind as something of high value and engagement-necessity.

ILT

Millennial here.

I’d much rather purchase in person from someone knowledgeable than pay slightly less on a gemstone I found on my own online. The problem with my generation is that we do a lot of our browsing and shopping in the evening (when fine jewelry shops are closed) - sometimes very late at night and on our phones. Or during the day when we’re bored but still too busy to stop by the local jeweler to shop. So I think that kind of shopping behavior causes us to miss out on those in person relationships with people who’ve been in the business for a long time.

We can be reached (and educated) when you share your knowledge here and also Instagram. I personally follow several Jewelers and designers on Instagram and I’m always so appreciative of the things I learn from them. Not to mention I love the videos they have of their diamonds.

Don’t give up on us.

 

[Paraiba]

Thank you for adding your opinions to the discussion.

re: the section I've bolded, what gets my goat is that GIA (or whoever) must be grading to Mined diamond grading techniques in order to get to the broader ranges they are putting on their reports.

If that is the case, why not just put that more detailed info on the report and grade as per Mined?

GIA is supposed to be an impartial third-party assessor / appraiser, and not be a company that is influenced to the point of perpetuating and implicitly parroting things like the 'real is rare' marketing campaign that Mined producers are pushing to dissuade consumers from a rival product.

A graded characteristic is a graded characteristic, regardless of where the stone comes from - the source is different but the (visible) physical characteristics are the same when MMD is done well, so there's no real valid reason not to consider and evaluate those properties on an equal footing.

Whether or not consumers wish to choose MMD or Mined is a decision for them to make with equal information available for each option, which GIA should be providing.

It smacks of trying to appease Mined stone producers and not rock the boat, IMHO.


Of course, should MMD stones be graded at all if producers commit to a minimum colour/clarity level? That is another question, which has been discussed recently.

Thank you for the input and I see your point... but where can the line be drawn? Not all consumers do extensive research and has complete understanding of the difference between MMD and Natural Mined Diamonds. If you grade them the same way, then that will make it easy for unsavory characters to take advantage and cheat consumers. Reputable institutions and grading companies have the ethical responsibility to protect consumers. To me as I see it, the grading is not just for looks, it signifies the rarity of the gem based on the characteristic it has... that is why the higher the grade the more expensive the diamond or gem. For MMD, the quality is controlled and manipulated to get desired characteristics, hence no rarity factor as the quality desired can be mass produced in weeks or months. To be honest, I really don’t think they should be graded at all... as you noted. My only guess why grading companies started grading MMD is because it’s another niche market that they can tap to make money to support their business. It is also a way to identify and label MMD... especially if they are inscribed. The issue now is how to identify the melee size diamonds which based on my reading is a concern, as possibly being sold as natural mined gems. Thank you.

 

[OoohShiny]

Thank you for the input and I see your point... but where can the line be drawn? Not all consumers do extensive research and has complete understanding of the difference between MMD and Natural Mined Diamonds. If you grade them the same way, then that will make it easy for unsavory characters to take advantage and cheat consumers. Reputable institutions and grading companies have the ethical responsibility to protect consumers. To me as I see it, the grading is not just for looks, it signifies the rarity of the gem based on the characteristic it has... that is why the higher the grade the more expensive the diamond or gem. For MMD, the quality is controlled and manipulated to get desired characteristics, hence no rarity factor as the quality desired can be mass produced in weeks or months. To be honest, I really don’t think they should be graded at all... as you noted. My only guess why grading companies started grading MMD is because it’s another niche market that they can tap to make money to support their business. It is also a way to identify and label MMD... especially if they are inscribed. The issue now is how to identify the melee size diamonds which based on my reading is a concern, as possibly being sold as natural mined gems. Thank you.

You have a good point on the melee stones - GIA has reported on some MMDs being found in parcels of Mined melee. There have been some discussions on here recently regarding the potential for Mined melee-sized stones to effectively become redundant and too expensive to mine/cut when MMD becomes more prevalent, especially when they are indistinguishable without grading assessment, which is an added expense that would make Mined less competitive and more expensive.

I disagree that MMD shouldn't be graded the same way, though - when graded the same way, the reports will (and already do) note that the stone is an MMD, and the stones are inscribed to make sure they are easily identified. All of this reduces the risk of consumers being taken advantage of.

 

[Paraiba]

You have a good point on the melee stones - GIA has reported on some MMDs being found in parcels of Mined melee. There have been some discussions on here recently regarding the potential for Mined melee-sized stones to effectively become redundant and too expensive to mine/cut when MMD becomes more prevalent, especially when they are indistinguishable without grading assessment, which is an added expense that would make Mined less competitive and more expensive.

I disagree that MMD shouldn't be graded the same way, though - when graded the same way, the reports will (and already do) note that the stone is an MMD, and the stones are inscribed to make sure they are easily identified. All of this reduces the risk of consumers being taken advantage of.

Thank you for the discussion. But we agree to disagree. I don’t think MMD should be graded the same way as Mined Natural Diamond. In diamond and gem grading, color and clarity grades are proportional to rarity, and there is no rarity attached to Factory-Made... Simple logic says that the scale should definitely be different. Again, thank you.

 

[Probee]

I see pros and cons to both sides.

Grading man made the exact same way as mined?

Pros: repurpose all the resources, education, consumer knowledge save time and money

Cons: whatever is attached to diamond (prestige, rarity, miracle gift from Mother Nature) cannot be said the same for man made (maybe it can in certain aspects?). Also using similar grading, it’s easy for consumers to fall into the trap of extrapolating D/IF man made is 50% less than D/IF mined and they are practically the same so I’m getting a great deal here.

Grading man made differently from mined?

Pros: characters that are different from man made can be described in more details (CVD, HPHT, type of inclusions). Build its own market shares and protect consumers from fraudulent activities (probably not all but most). Many people already have an idea of what I/SI1 mined diamond is, so it’s easer to gage and compare when shopping online.

Cons: must build a totally different grading system because currently only using some of the mined grading scale create confusion. There are also different attributes between man made and mined diamonds that using exactly the same grading system can put limits on the information that can be provided to consumers.

I hope to see a totally different grading system where companies compete for cut quality, color, brilliancy, creativity and whatever else the consumer would want to spend their money on rather than it’s D/IF diamond.

 

[DoeEyes]

@Paraiba
Comparing natural diamonds and lab grown diamonds is like comparing an apple from a wild apple tree vs an apple from an apple orchard. What you're saying is "this apple is better because it grew randomly, that one is worse because someone decided to grow it." They are exactly the same. No jeweler can identify one from the other with any level of magnification. You can only tell using an infrared spectrometer to determine Ia, Ib, IIa, IIb, and even then it's still a guess because some natural diamonds can be the same type as lab grown.

I'm not entirely sure why you're in this sub if you have such a closed mind and incorrect understanding of lab grown diamonds. What is your background? Are you a professional in the diamond industry? It seems to me you're either pushing the narrative because you stand to lose business, or because you've been brainwashed.

 

[Batgirl76]

I was in the market for 2 carat diamond earrings for my spouse... and was just made aware of this Man-Made or Laboratory Grown Diamond. So I wanted to learn more about them. While reading I came to see this forum regarding grading. I am not in the trade, but just an admirer.. consumer. Regarding the comment on how GIA Grades Lab Diamonds as noted:

They are still using "Colorless" instead of DEF, and "slightly included" instead of...not sure actually. SI1 and SI2 I guess. I'm not sure what the logic behind this is, unless they are just trying to make it harder on buyers.

In my opinion they are not making it harder on buyers, but their logic is to simply maintain the standards where it needs to be. I believe the main reason why Reputable Grading Company (i.e. GIA) is using broad terms like "Colorless" or simply "Slightly Included" etc. for grading Man-Made or Lab Grown Diamonds is because they are grown in LAB and Man-Made. Growing the crystal structure is controlled and only takes a week or month or so... hence the scientist can dictate/manipulate the growth chamber and condition inside to get what he or she desires (i.e. specific color, highest clear color grade, clarity, etc.). Unlike in Mother nature where diamonds and gems from the very beginning certain conditions has to occur for the crystal to even start forming. Then during the growth process that takes thousands or millions of years while constantly being insulted, bombarded with violence and changes in condition that can affect its color, clarity, distort its crystal form, limit, aid, or change in its formation all together. And then the process of finding then which takes significant effort and labor. As noted in my reading most minded diamonds or gemstones are NOT gem grade material (gem grade are rare)... and then cutting which takes skills to remove the imperfections but retains most of the gem material.

In my understanding/opinion, Grading Company want (must) reserve the grading specifics/levels (i.e. D,E,F, VVS1, SI1, etc.) for the mined diamonds that honestly deserves it as it required a great deal of chance or luck to get them from nature. Unlike the ones that is grown is a controlled petri-dish.

Honestly, I think Man-Made or Lab diamonds are beautiful and their is a market for them. BUT, they do not have the allure, mystery, and intrigue that is attached to Natural Mined Diamonds or gemstones that's formed during the formation of our world. So in my opinion, Man-Made or Lab Grown Diamonds or Gemstones should NOT and can not be graded the same way as they are easier and quicker in comparison to get since they are grown in a lab for a week or month.

Thank you.. By the way, I ended up buying 2 carat total Natural Mined Diamonds GIA F/SI1 Ex/Ex/Ex for my anniversary.

Well, if you’re going to factor “the allure, mystery, and intrigue” and perceived rarity of mined diamonds into what should be an OBJECTIVE grading scale of diamonds, then perhaps you should also factor human rights abuses, environmental destruction and other issues into the grading scale.

 

[Batgirl76]

IMHO the main reason identical grading isn’t done for mined and grown stones is because an identical grading system would make it crystal clear to the public that they are paying about 40% more to buy the destructive romantic myth.

 

[DoeEyes]

IMHO the main reason identical grading isn’t done for mined and grown stones is because an identical grading system would make it crystal clear to the public that they are paying about 40% more to buy the destructive romantic myth.

Spot on.